Newsmax host Rob Finnerty kicked off his Wednesday night program with an off-the-rails rant that claimed the devastating California wildfires were the latest example of “death by DEI” in the United States, explicitly pointing out that the Los Angeles Fire Department chief is a lesbian.
Finnerty’s anti-DEI tirade is just the latest example of right-wing media using the disaster in Los Angeles to suggest that liberals’ push to initiate diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the workplace has resulted in deadly consequences. Meanwhile, at least five people have died in the raging fires, which have destroyed tens of thousands of acres and still have yet to be contained by thousands of firefighters due to high winds and extremely dry conditions.
“And what’s happening right now in Southern California is absolutely terrible. But please do not be fooled by what you’re hearing from the media. These are not once-in-a-generation wildfires. This is not climate change,” Finnerty fumed at the top of his primetime show.
The MAGA host went on to compare the apocalyptic situation in Los Angeles to the recent terror attack in New Orleans, noting that there was one common element at play: women were in charge of the response.
“This is death by DEI once again, just like we saw last week in New Orleans with Ann Kirkpatrick, the DEI-hire police chief who didn’t know the city had barriers in storage that could have been placed on Bourbon Street to prevent that madman from doing what he did on New Year’s Eve,” Finnerty groused.
He then took aim at L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, claiming that she was more focused on promoting LGBTQ inclusivity than preparing the department for readiness. Crowley was nominated for the role by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2022 after Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas stepped down amid a growing scandal that he didn’t do enough to stop racist and sexist behavior in his department.
Crowley, who had been with the department for 22 years when she became chief, had previously become the city’s first female fire marshal in 2016. Additionally, when she first took the firefighter exam in the 1990s, she ranked in the top 50 among 16,000 applicants.
“In Los Angeles, it’s the exact same story — death by DEI, this time with their brand new fire chief,” Finnerty continued.
After noting that the city’s website points out that Crowley is the “first female and LGBTQ fire chief in Los Angeles history,” the Newsmax anchor sneered: “Well, isn’t that just wonderful. The first LGBTQ fire chief, something we can all hope to have in our own towns one day.”
Further pointing out that Crowley marched in the L.A. Pride parade alongside her department’s fire engines, Finnerty added that the chief was “incompetent” at her job.
Conservative media figures have quickly gravitated to blaming DEI for the deadly wildfires this week, much as they previously did with the Trump assassination attempt, Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse and airplane malfunctions.
CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings, for instance, sparked outrage on Wednesday night when he wondered whether attempts to increase the diversity of the fire department led to this disaster. Former Fox News star turned right-wing podcaster Megyn Kelly profanely railed against Crowley on Thursday while accusing her of placing DEI above firefighting.
“In recent years, L.A.’s fire chief has made not filling the fire hydrants top priority, but diversity… Who gives a s–t if the fire chief is gay. I’m sorry but who gives a flying fig about who she likes to sleep with, can you fight the f–king fires, madam? That’s the relevant question,” Kelly exclaimed. “Can you fight fires? Can you make sure there’s water in the fire hydrants?”
While firefighters have been experiencing empty hydrants and water shortages, the reason isn’t because the reservoirs weren’t filled ahead of time but due to the “high water demand that is outpacing the speed at which water service officials can replenish the tanks,” officials have said.
At the same time, President-elect Donald Trump has also falsely claimed that California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s refusal to sign a nonexistent “water restoration declaration” led to the spread of the disastrous fires across the Los Angeles region. In reality, the fires began due to extreme winds and arid conditions.
